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Famed chef Gordon Ramsay seeks to turn Meson de Mesilla fortunes as part of 'Hotel Hell' TV show

By Andi Murphy/amurphy@lcsun-news.com

Posted:
06/17/2013 04:26:18 PM MDT

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Crew members for the FOX network television show Hotel Hell begin to haul equipment into Meson de Mesilla hotel, restaurant and bar on Monday where celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and film crews are taping an episode of Hotel Hell that will debut later this fall.

LAS CRUCES — Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and FOX network's "Hotel Hell" crew are already hard at work trying to bring Meson de Mesilla out of a rut and turn it into a successful hotel.

"I was really kind of surprised," said Meson de Mesilla owner, Cali Szczawinski. "What's "hell' about that (Meson de Mesilla)? For me, hell was not having customers."

Meson de Mesilla was built in 1984. When Szczawinski took over the place in 2006, it went through a lot of ups and downs. First, it was shut down for remodeling for more than a year. Then, it opened in 2008 and was sort of an upscale jazz hangout that quickly closed and sat empty for more than a year again. She opened it once again in 2011, deciding to take business into her own hands rather than work with people who would drop out of business on her at the last minute and leave her hanging, she said.

"I was devastated, disgusted and tired," she said. "When leasers left, I pretty much hated this place. I fell back in love with it after I reopened it."

But the customers were nowhere to be seen. This is partly due to Meson's odd look and location at 1803 Avenida de Mesilla. Sometimes it looks like a house and other times people don't know this restaurant is also a hotel, Szczawinski said.

As of now, it's a mystery as to how producers of "Hotel Hell" found Meson de Mesilla to have the right characteristics of a hellish hotel.

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Out of the blue, Szczawinski got a call from a women asking ""Do you know the show "Hotel Hell'? Do you know who Gordon Ramsay is?'" she said.

"I was really kind of surprised," she added. "There's so much that I don't know about this. I know that they're here to help me and they're not here to hurt me.

"I hope to walk away feeling really energized and excited and having customers feel the same way. The biggest thing is, I want Meson de Mesilla to be all it can be because it's a very good property," Szczawinski said.

"Hotel Hell" has a similar plot to Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares." He will explore a struggling hotel and implement some business-saving changes while all drama is let loose between the owners, management and staff.

Ramsay has a reputation of being harsh, brutally honest, explicit and loud while dealing with owners and staff who have let their establishment run into the ground.

Ramsay is a world-renown chef who has opened a string of very successful restaurants including Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, which holds three Michelin stars. He's one of only four chefs in London to hold that many stars.

Ramsay is a star in "Kitchen Nightmares," "Hell's Kitchen" and "Masterchef," according to his biography on the show's website, fox.com/hotel-hell.

"I am getting nervous," said Ceara Angel, 33, Meson de Mesilla's lead chef. "I respect him (Ramsay) as a chef. Sometimes people need to hear the hard truth."

Angel joined the Meson team — two months ago — after many different chefs came and went. She comes from Phoenix' Art Institute and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and London, she said.

Upon coming to Meson, she has had to abide by Szczawinski's menu and recipes. And the menu is quite extensive. It includes steaks, pasta, barbecue, seafood, Tuscan food, sandwiches, salads, regional dishes and breakfast dishes.

"I like the menu," Angel said. "I think they all sound like good items, but they don't quite go well together."

She suspects that Ramsay is going to have an issue with that, she said.

"I think we're all pretty trainable," she said about the kitchen staff of seven. "I honestly hope people know what this place is. I think that it'd be nice to put this place on the map."